Controlling mechanism for motor-vehicles.



M. TIBBETTS. CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, 1909.

1,055,834, Patented Mar.11, 1913 3 SHEBTSSHEET 1.

M. TIBBETTS'.

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR vnmcmzs. APPLICATION FILED FBB.5, 1909.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

3 SHEETSSHBBT Z.

M. TIBBETTS. CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES. APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 5, 1909.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

3 SHEBTSSHEET 3.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oE IoE.

MILTON TIBBETTS, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

' CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON TIBBETrs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Controlling Mechanism for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the cont-rolling mechanism of hydrocarbon engines, and has particular reference to the throttle control in motor vehicles.

It consists in novel means for supporting the various sets of operating mechanism. the means for connecting them together, and the means for connecting them to the throttle valve, whereby certain novel functions and results are secured. 1 As hereinafter set forth I have in the present' instance applied the various features of my invention to a- 'motor vehicle provided with an automatic governor, a hand lever and a foot lever, all' adapted to operate the throttle valve in the intake pipe of the hydrocarbon motor.

It will be understood that the various features of my invention are not confined to use in the particular form and combination shown.

Thenovel features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a side elevation 'of the intake pipe of a hydrocarbon motor, together with controlling devices for the throttle valve embodying some features of my invention. Fig.2 is aside elevation of the controlling device having a slightly different arrangement. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showinga different connection between the throttle valve and hand lever; Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing a modified spring support for thefoot lever; and Fig. 5 is a section through the shaft of the throttle valve showing the connection of the operating arms.

Referring particularly to 1, I have illustrated the intake pipe 1 for the combustible'gmixture which passes to the motor, and in this pipeI have placed the ordinary'butterfiy' throttle valve 2 upon the shaft 3 piv- 1 oted in the intake pipe 1. This throttle valve is operated by an automatic governor 4, by

Specification of Letters Patent.

a foot lever 5 called the accelerator pedal, and by a hand lever on the top of the'steerng column 6. This last leverv is not shown 1n the drawings, but will be understood by those skilled in the art. In the form shown in Fig. 1, the operating arm 7 is rigidly secured to the shaft 3 of the throttle valve on the outside of the intake pipe and the rod 8 connects this arm 7 with the downwardly depending arm 9 of the accelerator pedal 5,

which is pivotally supported at 10. The connection between the rod 8 and arm 9 is made by the clevis 11 which may be made adjustable to regulate the length of the connection with the valve. An arm 12 is looselv mounted upon the shaft- 3 outside of and inimediately beside the arm,7, and it will be observed that the arm 7 is provided with a stop 13 which projects in the path of the arm 12, thus preventing the arm 12 from passing the arm 7 when rotating in one direction. T 0 one end of the arm 12 is secured a rod 14 connected with the governor 4 and a rod 15 connected with the depending arm of the bell crank lever 16 pivotally mounted at '17 upon the fixed base 18 of the steering column. The bell crank lever 16 is operated by. the sliding sleeve 19 carried by the stering column, and in turn operated by the hand lever at the top of the steering column through mechanism extending down within that column. The rod 15 is surrounded by coiled springs 20, 21 held in place by the ad- 'justable nuts 22, 23, and these springs bear upon opposite sides of the depending arm ofthe bell crank lever 16, thus furnishing a. flexible connection between the hand lever and the arm 12 of the throttle valve. The lowerends of the arms 7 and 12 are connected by a spring 24 which tends to draw those arms together and hold them in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the strength of this spring being suflicient to make the fixed arm 7 and the connected throttle valve turn with the loose arm 12, unless the arm 7' is positively held against turning;

It will be observed that in the above construction the accelerator pedal 5' is rigidly connected to the throttle valve and that any motion of that pedal will be directly communicated to the valve. The governor 4 1S rigidly connected to the arm 12, but that arm is not rigidly connected to the throttle I Patented Mar. 11, 1913. Application filed February 5, 1909. Serial No. 476,485.

springs 20 and 21 to the arm 12 and con sequently has no rigid connection with the throttle valve at any time. It will. be ob served that by this construction it is not necessary in operating the accelerator pedal 5 to overcome the force of the governor 4, tending to close the throttle valve, since such valve may be positively opened by the foot pedal without moving the governor as is clearly illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, where the loose arm 12 remains stationary and the fixed arm 7 moves with relation thereto, expanding the spring 24. The only force to be overcome in this operation is the tension of the spring 24 which may be .made very sli ht- The spring 24 should however be made sufiiciently strong to return the accelerator pedal to its elevated position in case no separate spring is used for that purpose.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the connect-ion between the governor and hand lever and the throttle valve is substantially the same as in the form shown in Fig. 1, but I have here shown a different means for supporting the accelerator pedal, and have shown different means for securing the spring connection between the fixed and loose arm on the throttle valve. In this instance the arm 25 is rigidly secured to the shaft 3 of the throttle valve and the arm 26 provided with a stop 27 is mounted to turn loosely upon the shaft 3 and is connected to the overnor by the rod 14 and to the bell cran lever 16 by the rod 15. The rod 28 .is connected to the fixed arm 25 and to the bottom portion 29 ofthe foot pedal 5. In

this instance the foot pedal is not mounted also performs the functions which are per-- formed by the spring 24 in the form shown in Fig. 1. In other words the spring 31 tends to keep the arms 25 and 26 to ether so that the. throttle valve will norma ly open and close as the loosely mounted arm 26 is turned. The tension of the spring 31 may be adjusted in any suitable way, such as by the adjustment of the clevis 33 upon the end of the rod 28, which changes the length of that rod, or by aturnbuckle 34 on the rod 28. In this figure of the drawings I have shown the spring 31 in dotted lines at 35, this being intended to represent the were not held flexed by its connection with the throttle valve.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modified connection between the hand lever and the throttle valve and have used the flexible spring support for the accelerator pedal as a part of that connection. In this instance the foot-pedal 5 is connected with the rod 28 in substantially the same manner as in Fig., 2, and this rod 28 is connected to the arm 36, rigidly secured to the shaft of the throttle valve. The accelerator pedal is carried by the lower end of the flexible leaf spring 37 which is secured to the bell crank lever 38 pivoted at 39 by means of the bolts 40. The bell crank lever which is operated by the hand lever at the top of the steering column 6 is not in this instance pro vided with a separate armconnected with the throttle valve, but the sole connection is made through the spring 37. It will be seen that a depression of the sleeve 19 by the hand lever will turn the bell crank lever 38 upon its pivot 39 and will thereby tend to move'the spring 37 to the right, carrying the rod 28 with it, and turning the throttle valve upon its shaft to open it. The connection between the hand lever and the throttle valve is thus flexible and the spring 37 performs the functions, in so far as this lever is concerned, of the springs 20, 21 in the form shown in Fig 1. "In order to secure proper leverage I prefer to arrange the spring 37 more nearly vertical than the spring 31 in the form shown in Fig. 2, and for that purpose provide the foot pedal 5 with a long stem 41. In this form of the device I have shown the governor 4 connected directly to the fixed arm 36' of the throttle valve, but it will be understood that my invention contemplates the use of the loosely mounted arm such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, connected with the governor, whereby it will not be necessary to overcome the force of the governor in operating the accelerator pedal. The hand lever controlling the bell crank lever 38 may be set in various positions, thus adjusting the tension of the spring 37, and regulating the control of the throttle valve.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a curved spring 42 connected by bolts 43 to the lower position which the spring would occupy if it a edge of the vehicle dash 44, and this spring The scribed in connection with Fig. 2 for holding the two operatin arms of the throttle together, may be ma e very weak and only strong enough to overcome the pressure of gas in the intake. The spring 42 furthermore may be made sufiiciently resilient to hold the two operating arms together as described in connection with Fig. 2, and in that instance the spring 24 may be dispensed with entirely. It will be understood that in this instance, as well as in the other forms, means are provided for adjusting the tension of the spring.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating devices for said valve, one of which is connected positively therewith and the other of which is connected to positively open said valve and to flexibly close it.

2. In a motor Vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating devices for said valve, one of which is connected positively therewith and the other of which is connected to positively open said valve and to flexibly close it, and a manual operating lever for operating said last mentioned actuating device.

3. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating arms for said valve, one of which is connected positively therewith and the other of which is connected to positively open said valve and to flexibly close it, and means for operating each of said arms independently of the other.

4. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating arms for said valve, one of which is connected positively therewith and the other of which is connected to positively open said valve and to flexibly close it, manual controlled means for operating one of said arms and a governor for operating the other arm.

5. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating arms for said valve, one of which is connected positively therewith and the other of which is connected to positively open said valve and to flexibly close it, a foot pedal for operating one of said arms and hand and governor devices for operating the other arm.

6. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating arms for said valve one of which is positively connected therewith, a stop on one of said arms to so connect the positive arm with the other arm that the former is positively moved by the latter in one direction, and a spring to yieldably hold the stop against the other arm.

7. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating arms for said valve one of which is positively connected therewith and the other of which is mounted to turn independently of the valve, the said arms being so mounted that the freely movable arm will make contact with the positively connected arm when moved the separation of said arms and independv ent means for operating the two arms.

In a motor vehicle controlling means,

the combination with the, motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of two actuating devices for said Valve one of which is connected positively therewith and the other of which is connected to positively open said valve and to flexibly close it, a lever for controlling one of said devices, and a flexible connection between said lever and the body of the vehicle. 9. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of an actuatlng arm positively connected with said valve, a pedal lever for operating said arm, a second arm adapted to positively open said valve when turned in one direction and having connections for flexibly closing it when turned in the opposite direction, and a governor directly connected to said last mentioned arm for actuating it.

10. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of an actuating arm positively connectedwith said valve, a pedal lever for operat ng said arm, a second arm adapted to positively open said valve when turned in one direction and having connections for flexibly closing it when turned in the opposite direction, a governor directly connected to said last mentioned arm for actuating it,-and hand operated actuating means connected with said last mentioned arm.

11. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of an actuating arm positively connected with said valve, a pedal lever for operating said arm, a second arm adapted to positively open said valve when turned in one d1rect1on d having connections for flexibly clos ng it when turned in the opposite direction, a governor directl connected sald last mentioned arm or actuating 1t, and hand operated actuating means flexibly connected with said last mentioned arm.

12. In a motor vehicle controllm means,

the combination wlth the motor i et pi e,

of a throttle valve therein, an arm ngi ly in one direction, a spring tending to prevent connected to said valve for turning it, a second arm mounted to turn freely concentrio with the first arm, means on the arms for preventing one from passing the other, separate means for operating said arms, and yielding means tending to prevent the separation of said arms.

13. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the vehicle body and a motor part to be controlled, of a member to control said part, and a flexible support for said member on said body.

14. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the vehicle body and a motor part to be controlled, of a pedal lever to control said part, and a flexible support for said lever on said body.

15. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the vehicle body, the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of a controlling lever connected with said valve, and a spring supporting the lever on the vehicle body.

16. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the vehicle body, the motor inlet pipe and throttle valve therein, of a controlling lever connected with said valve, and a leaf spring connecting said lever with the vehicle body and constituting a flexible support for the lever.

In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the vehicle body and a motor part to be controlled, of a ongitudinally movable rod connected at one end to the said motor part, a controlling member, a leaf spring connecting said member with and supporting it from the vehicle body, anl connections between said member and r0 V 18. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and the throttle valve therein, of an act-uating arm for said throttle, a hand control lever, a spr'ing'connection between said lever and said arm, and a pedal lever supported by said spring.

19. In a motor vehlcle controlling means,

the combination with the motor inlet pipe and the throttle valve therein, of an actuating arm for said throttle, a hand control lever, a spring connection between said lever and said arm, and a pedal lever supported .and the throttle valve by said spring and pivotally connected to said arm.

20. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and the throttle valve therein, of two actuating devices for said valve, the first of which is connected to positively open and close said valve and the second of which is connected to positively open said valve only, a pedal lever unyieldably connected with said first device, a hand controlled lever yieldably connected with said second device, and a spring supporting said pedal lever and adapted to return it to normal position after being depressed, said spring also constituting means for connecting said second device to flexibly close said throttle valve.

21. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and the throttle valve therein, of two actuating devices for said valve, the first of which is connected to positively open and close said valve and the second which is connected to positivel open said valve only, a

pedal lever unyiel ably connected with said first device, a hand controlled lever yieldably connected and a governor positively connected with said second device, and a spring supporting said pedal lever and adapted to return it to normal position after being depressed, said spring also constituting means for connecting said second device to flexibly close said throttle valve.

22. In a motor vehicle controlling means,

the combination with the motor inlet pipe therein, of a spring supported operating device for said throttle tending normally to hold said throttle closed.

23. In a motor vehicle controlling means, the combination with the motor inlet pipe and the throttle valve therein, of an operating device for 'said throttle, a leaf sprin constituting the support for said device an tending to hold said throttle closed.

In testimon whereof I atfix my signature in presence 0 two witnesses.

, MILTON TIBBETTS.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR L. BRYANT, B. C. RUs'r. 

